Beginning to End
by t3ars0fglass
Summary: Since they were little, Tenzin and Lin have been best friends. A story that carries us from the beginning of their friendship, to now.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, So…this is my new story…I also have another called I Never Wanted You To Find Out. I hope you like it! R&R please!**

**Chapter 1**: Arrival

The wind howled and rain splattered against the windows. Thunder boomed in the distance as lightning appeared to be striking the earth. It was one of the stormiest days in history. However, something more special seemed to be happening at this very moment. "Katara! Katara!" Toph Bei Fong called. She was clutching her rounded stomach while attempting to sit down. "Katara!" The baby was coming. "Katara! Come here! Help!" Eventually, Toph could feel the small and quick vibrations of Katara's feet, as she hurried through the hall and to Toph's assistance.

"Toph! Sokka, come here!" Katara, even being the world's best healer, seemed to be excitedly nervous. This was Toph's first child, and the entire city had been awaiting the baby. However, some reasons being different than others. Some claim it was because there was going to be another Toph Bei Fong, a great leader and successful Police Chief. Others, including Sokka, Aang, and Katara along with those who knew her quite well, claimed it was to get past her crazy mood swings. Sokka strode into the room, not paying any attention to what was going on. Toph let out an ear piercing scream, alerting Sokka that something was wrong. She had finally managed to get into a seat and was now clutching her stomach and breathing very heavily. Katara was tending to her, helping her along with the process. She turned to see Sokka rummaging through food. "Sokka! A little help please?" Sokka was shocked to see Toph in the state she was in.

"I'll go get Aang." He hurried out of the room, and grabbed the unaware Avatar by his robes, dragging him into the kitchen.

"I need some rags, a bowl of water, and to get her in a bed! Sokka, go watch the children!" Katara and Aang had invited everybody over for Tenzin's first birthday party. His birthday had been a week ago, but no one was home, so they delayed it. Kya and Bumi were now harassing the now one year old Tenzin. "Okay Toph, I want you to breath, in, out, in, out."

"I know how to breath! Just get this damn thing outta me!" She shouted, pointing to her stomach. Aang was assisting Katara in moving Toph to a bedroom in the back of the house, hoping to drown out some of her screams. She had insisted in Katara delivering the baby, because she was her best friend and she knew Katara. They had her lay down on the bed, Aang leaving the room to give her privacy.

Aang went to help Sokka contain Kya and Bumi. They were currently rolling around on the floor, wrestling. He pulled the two apart, picking up Tenzin, and sitting on a cushion in the middle of the floor. They would occasionally hear screams from the back of the room, and the ceiling would rattle every couple of minutes. Aang could tell Sokka was worried. He and Toph were such great friends. "Sokka, are you alright? You seem rather anxious."

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little nervous." He admitted, now rubbing his knees. The door opened, and Sokka sprang to his feet. He was a little disappointed when it was just an Air Acolyte.

Meanwhile, Katara was having a little trouble delivering the baby while Toph was chucking rocks at her. It was her own tactic to ease the labor pains. "Alright. One more push. That's all I am asking Toph. On three. One, two, three!" She demanded. A small cry was heard throughout the room, and Katara smiled, holding up a beautiful baby girl. "Toph, it's a girl." Toph breathed out, a smile playing across her lips.

"Can I hold her Katara?" She asked. She couldn't see her, but I she held her she could get an idea of what she looked like.

"Of course." Katara handed Toph the baby gently, making sure she was in firm hands before releasing. "What's her name Toph?"

"Lin. Her name is Lin." Toph smiled down at the baby.

The door opened once more, and Sokka sat up in his seat. He had been waiting for almost five hours. Katara walked in, and he hopped to his feet, brushing past Katara. "Come on Aang." She whispered. He stood up, still holding Tenzin. Kya and Bumi followed curiously to the back room. Sokka was already seated on the bed next to Toph, a wide smile he wore on his face. He stared down at the baby girl Toph called Lin. "Isn't she beautiful?" Katara whispered to Aang.

"Yes. What is her name?" He had tears in his eyes.

"Lin." Toph answered for Katara. She handed her to Sokka. They sat there like that for almost an hour before Katara suggested everyone leave Toph to rest. She took the baby, and laid her in the soft crib beside Toph's bed. Toph had already fallen asleep, and so had the baby. Katara smiled as she slid the screen doors closed.

**Alright, so I THINK I may or may not continue this story. It depends on how many people review it….**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, I haven't gotten any reviews hardly in my other story for the last few chapters… I will not be uploading anything in there until it reaches 65-70 reviews. However, I am glad to receive the reviews I have gotten for this story, and I will be updating as soon as I get 6 reviews, like per chapter kinda thing. :D So as soon as the review count hits twelve, I will write another chapter. Alright, so here is chapter 2. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 2: **Birthday

"Mommy, when are we leaving? You said we would leave in an hour almost two hours ago!" A furious Lin tapped her toes as her mother finished getting ready.

"I know, I know. We'll leave in five minutes." Toph huffed. It wasn't easy raising a child on her own, and it certainly wasn't easy when the child was just as stubborn as she was.

"Promise?"

"Yes! Come on!" Toph grabbed her daughter's hand as she dragged her out the door. Lin smiled widely, knowing she would see Tenzin in a few minutes. They had been inseparable from the day they met, always playing around in the mud and causing trouble. Toph often left Lin at the island whilst she worked. She trusted Katara, just as much as she trusted Aang. Toph lived on the edge of Republic City, right next to the water ferry and Metalbending Police Headquarters. Her house wasn't too big, as she only need living space for her and Lin. Only a metal bender could get inside the house, which was good for Toph because she trusted her police. They neared the ferry, Toph's stomach becoming rather unsettled. She liked being on land where she could feel everything. Being on a boat however, she could feel nothing, and it worried her. She sat down, and her daughter climbed into her lap. "So what are you and Tenzin gonna get into today?" Lin smiled up at her mother, keeping her mouth shut.

"I'm not telling you mommy!" Lin laughed, which only made Toph laugh. It was one of her favorite sounds in the whole world and it always brightened her days.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yepp. I'm not telling you anything." Lin hopped off of her mother's lap and leaned over the railing, staring down at the clear green water. The boat stopped so Lin grabbed her mother's hand leading her to the exit. "Come on Mommy." Toph set her feet on dry land, feeling relieved. She could feel every crack the earth had in it on this island, all of the rocks and stones, every hole that went into the earth. To Toph, feeling the earth was like breathing.

"Alright Lin, you go find Tenzin, I need to talk to Twinkle Toes." Toph set off up the hill while Lin ran up to the temple. Tenzin was always practicing meditation. He thought it would make him just like his father. She ran up to bronze sliding doors. They were hard to move, but if she tried hard enough, she could make just enough room for her to slip through. The temple was pretty, and it had the four Air Temple relics plastered high and low on the walls. There were rooms staggered on each side, making it easier to look into them. She crept in the last room; spotting the young, bald child she called her best friend. It had been weeks since they had seen each other, and Lin was becoming worried he might have found a new best friend. She walked up behind him, as he was still unaware of her presence. "Tenzin!" she shouted. The young boy jumped up in the air, quickly taking a defensive stance before realizing it was Lin. He stood quickly, scowling at her.

"That wasn't funny!" Lin was now on her back laughing as hard as she could at Tenzin's reaction. He loved seeing her like that because he thought it made her look pretty. He started laughing alongside her, disrupting the morning meditation sessions in the other rooms. Some of the Acolytes made desperate attempts to shush them, leaving as soon as they were silent. Tenzin hugged his best friend whom he had not seen it quite some time.

"Come on! Let's go play." Lin grabbed Tenzin by the hand, dragging him out of the temple. "What do you wanna do?" Lin rocked back and forth from her toes to her heals.

"You pick." Tenzin was never one to pick what they did because every time he picked he got complaints. Lin always liked picking any ways. He figured she had already thought out something from the evil grin that she wore upon her face.

"Alright, let's go to the creek." Lin led the way through the bushes and trees and alongside the path she had created only a year ago. Lin made no attempt at changing into her swim suit, and jumped right in to the cold water, Tenzin not too far behind her. They loved swimming and did it most every time Lin had visited the island. Lin splashed Tenzin, which instigated a water fight. Lin shielded herself with her forearms as Tenzin used his air bending to send a wave of water over Lin. She was now soaked from head to toe, glaring at the now giddy Tenzin. He was soon covered in mud and his giggle fits had ended there. Lin pulled herself out of the creek and to dry land where she attempted to ring out the bottom of her shirt. A dirt-drenched Tenzin stood holding his arms from his body.

"A little help Lin?" She sighed, rolling her eyes as she bent the dirt off of Tenzin and headed to get Kya to dry her. It was almost lunch time anyways and she was positive Aunt Katara didn't want her kitchen sopping wet. Kya was playing around with Bumi as always. They had recently taken up sparring with each other, which had never ended well.

"Kya! Can you dry me off? Your air-head of a brother got me soaking wet." She shouted, turning her head to glare at Tenzin who merely raised his arms in a sign of innocence.

"Yeah sure! Hold on Bumi!" Kya took the water out of Lin's shirt and let it fall to the ground. Lin examined herself to make sure that she was all dry. "Wait up!" Kya ran off with Bumi, leaving Lin and Tenzin alone on the sparring grounds.

"Hey, Tenzin. Let's spar. I've wanted to try it for a long time!" Lin suggested anxiously.

"We aren't supposed to Lin." Aang had told Tenzin a while back that he wasn't old enough to spar. He hadn't trained enough and he could easily get hurt, or hurt someone.

"We aren't supposed to go to the creek either but we do that anyways." Lin raised her eyebrow to show Tenzin that she was awaiting an answer. He hunched his shoulders in defeat, huffing and rolling his eyes.

"Fine, but we gotta be super careful." He warned. Lin ran to the other side of the sparring area and crouched down in a wide stance. This was the earth-bending stance; you weren't supposed to be able to be moved by anything, like the earth. Tenzin also crouched, although a bit higher. They started sparring, Lin rapidly firing rocks at Tenzin's head as he ducked, dodged and sent powerful gusts of air back. They danced on the out skirts of the sparring circle, eluding one another's attacks. Tenzin sent a straight, powerful blow, Lin raising the earth to shield her.

Katara looked out the window, searching for the children. Her eyes passed the sparring circle, but they quickly moved back as she realized who was sparring. She hurried inside searching for Aang. "Aang. Get down here! Lin and Tenzin are sparring!" Fear filled her mind. The children didn't know how to spar. They weren't trained at avoiding blows. She rushed outside to stop the two. "Tenzin!" He looked away from Lin, distracted by his mother's call. She knew it was a mistake the second she yelled his name. Lin had hurled a huge boulder right at him, but it was too late to stop it. He turned to look at what his mother was scared about as soon as it made contact with torso. Lin let out an ear-piercing, fear filled scream. Aang had rushed outside to see what was wrong and saw Katara rushing to the field. He looked beyond that and saw Lin running over to a giant boulder. He began to run, passing Katara as he went to tend to Lin. She was sobbing and pointing frantically over to the boulder. "Aang! Aang! H-he's under the boulder!" She hiccupped. Aang's body became rigid as he realized who she was talking about. He lifted the boulder, Katara running under it to get to Tenzin. Toph and Sokka had come outside too after hearing Lin's scream, but didn't realize what had happened until Sokka saw Aang carrying a limp Tenzin back to the house. Lin was sobbing alongside Katara. He rushed down the hill, taking Tenzin from Aang quickly. Kya and Bumi had even heard the scream and hurried over, curiosity consuming their young minds.

"Lin, what happened?" Toph asked her in a whisper. The strong little girl she had known had become frail and small. She was too shocked to speak, only being able to let out a whimper. Katara let Lin come to the back room as she healed Tenzin. They couldn't be separated, it was impossible. Lin took a seat on the cold floor, watching in horror as her best friend lay on the bed ,unmoving.

"Aunt Katara, will he be okay?" She managed to squeak. Katara had finished healing him, and had taken a seat next to Lin, pulling her close.

"He should be fine Lin. His arm and leg are broken. He should be awake soon." Lin took some comfort in knowing that Tenzin would be fine, and vowed not to spar ever again. Aang let her make a pallet beside Tenzin's bed and she slept there for the night. Not wanting to leave his side.


	3. Chapter 3

**I feel like I haven't updated this story in a LONG LONG time, so I am adding two chapters today. XD I love little Linzin or TenLin or whatever you like to call it. So here is chapter 3 guys. I really hope you enjoy it. Remember 6 reviews per chapter. REVIEW PEOPLE! WE DON'T JUST WRITE THESE STORIES TO HEAR NOTHING BACK ABOUT THEM! Alright. Where was I. Oh, yeah. CHAPTER 3!**

**Three YEARS LATER (Ages 10 and 11)**

**Chapter 3: A While.**

Tenzin sat at the duck pond, the usual meeting spot for him and Lin, waiting for her. She said that she had some news to give him, and he wasn't sure if he wanted the news. He let his feet sink into the water as he watched the frogs hop from one lily pad to another. He had been waiting for almost twenty minutes and was becoming rather impatient. He picked his feet up and out of the water to dry them as he stood. He figured that if he were going to wait, he should at least meditate until she got there. His feet were dry now, so he crossed his legs and sat back down. Tenzin slowed his breathing as he breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. The faint sound of metal on earth indicated that Lin had gotten on the island, and they sped up as she saw him. He remained meditating until she got there. "Hey!" He stood and hugged her briefly before asking for the news. She looked down at her feet and dug her boot's toe into the earth. It wasn't going to be good news. "Well, my mother and I have decided to take a trip around all of the Earth Kingdoms so that she may teach me every style." Tenzin didn't understand why she thought this was bad news.

"Lin! That's awesome! When are you leaving?" She looked down at her feet again and muttered something too quiet for Tenzin to hear. "Huh?" His head cocked to one side as he tried to comprehend what she had said.

"Well, you see. I only had time to come and tell you we were leaving. We are leaving in a few minutes. It was a last minute kind of thing." She explained looking sorrowful. Tenzin's face fell. He tried to smile through it.

"Oh. I see. So when are you coming back?" His tone was hopeful, wishing her answer would be a week.

"I won't be back for a while. My mother said anywhere from two to three years." Tenzin's mouth hung open and he couldn't even take in what she was saying. He felt like someone had dropped a lion-turtle on his heart. Sure, he was happy for Lin; she got to train and he didn't want to be the one to hold her back. Tenzin grabbed her by her shoulders, pulling her into a rather tight embrace. They hugged each other for a long time, each knowing they wouldn't see their best friend until they were teenagers.

"You have to promise me that we will write each other letter every day. And we will know everything that has gone on in each other's life. Period." Tenzin stuck out his pinky, and Lin locked hers with his. She pulled him into another hug, squeezing him until he couldn't breathe.

"I promise." She whispered as her mother called for her. Lin looked at Tenzin and he looked back. They had said their silent goodbyes when she ran off to board the boat. Tenzin laughed as he remembered how much his Aunt Toph hated boats. It was ironic. As he made his way over the hill, he saw the giant ship Toph had gotten. Lin stood on the side, leaning over the railing. Toph was standing beside her, panic written all over her face. The boat sounded a horn and began to pull away. Lin was waving goodbye to Aang, Katara, Kya and Bumi. Tenzin stood by himself, catching Lin's eyes one last time before he could no longer make out her figure. Aang walked over, putting one hand on Tenzin's shoulders. "I know, I'll miss them too."

* * *

Lin had arrived at the first Earth Temple almost a week ago. Her mother had been training her to sink into the earth and hide. She had gotten quite good at it, if she said so herself. They had just finished their training for the day and Lin went to check for a letter from Tenzin. He had promised her they would write each other each week, and she planned on holding him to that promise. There was a rolled up piece of parchment paper tied to a post outside. Lin's eyes widened and she ran outside to go and get it. There was a red bow around it and on the very outside of the scroll it said in big cursive letters: _Lin_. She became excited, knowing it was from Tenzin. It took a minute, but she finally got the ribbon off and unrolled it. After thinking for a minute, Lin decided her mother would like to hear it too, so she ran inside to read it to her. "Mom! Mom! Tenzin's letter got here!" She shouted. She ran into the kitchen to find her mother seated on the floor around the table.

"Alright, well let me hear it." Toph loved it when Lin read to her. She was proud of Lin for learning to read and write well. She was especially proud when she did it with a blind mother.

"Ok!" Lin unrolled the letter and started to read it aloud.

"_Dear Lin,_

_Things have been really interesting since you left. Bumi broke his leg, or as he claims, Kya broke it. Either way, it looked painful. My dad has been looking for people to take up a temporary spot at filling your mom's job, but he says he can't find anyone good enough." _Toph scoffed, causing Lin to giggle. _"I have been training non-stop, and meditating a lot. My dad says I'm only about a year away from getting my master tattoos, but I think he's just saying that. How is your training going? I bet it's really pretty where you are. I hope you are having a lot of fun. Be sure to tell your mom that mine says hello. She wants to know how she is doing. We miss you a lot Lin. I hope your training goes well._

_Your Best Friend,_

_Tenzin." _Lin smiled at the paper, and looked up to see her mother smiling. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just you have become an excellent reader." Toph often bragged about her daughter to her metal benders about her earth bending, but she rarely talked about her intellectual skills. Lin smiled wider and ran off to go get a pen and some parchment so that she could write back to Tenzin.

* * *

Lin's training had progress immensely as the three years went by, and she had also blossomed into a young lady. Her mother was planning on taking her to the Eastern Earth Temple for their last month of training. She had promised Lin that there she would teach her the art of metal bending. That wasn't all that was on Lin's mind however. She hadn't heard from Tenzin in three months and was becoming worried he had moved on. It had been over three years since she had last seen her best friend, and he didn't even have the decency to write her back. She feared he had gotten himself a girlfriend, and would now be much too busy to hang out with her. She walked into her mother's bedroom, plopping herself on the bed. "Mom?"

"Hmm?" Toph was currently packing up all of their things so that they would be able to leave for the Eastern temple.

"I have a question." Toph urged her daughter to continue. "Well, uh, you see. I mean, it's not that I don't want to, it's just." Lin huffed, unable to find the words she needed.

"You want to go ahead and go back to Republic City." Toph turned around, placing her hands in her hips. Her eyes didn't quite meet with Lin's, but she was used to it.

"Yeah. I mean, it's not that I don't want to learn metal bending, it's just that I miss everyone." Lin explained, falling back onto the bed.

"Okay, I'll tell you what. We'll go back to Republic City on one condition. You have to enroll in the Metal Bending Academy." Lin sighed, but admitted it was better than waiting a month.

"Deal!" Toph smiled, happy that her daughter was going to the Academy she had founded. She knew Lin was going to be top of her class. She already excelled in every other fact of earth bending.

"Okay. I guess we will just head back to Republic City today." Lin jumped to her feet and ran over to hug her mother. She then helped her pack, anxious to get home faster. The packing was almost finished anyways, and it didn't take long to get everything onto the ship. Lin went and told the captain that they were to head back to Republic City. He eyed her suspiciously, then gave way because she was Toph's daughter, and Toph had raised her well. She couldn't sit still and was happy to be on her way home.

* * *

Tenzin had been in hard-core training every day for the past two months. He awoke early each morning for meditation, and then went to train air bending with his father all day. He hadn't had the time to write Lin back and felt guilty as he had received the many letters from her without actually reading them. He always promised himself he would read all of them and then write back, but every day after he got home, he was too tired and fell asleep before he was able to read them. Tenzin knew she was angry; he had broken their promise to write every week. It was just that he was so busy and didn't have the time to write. It had been three years, and he was sure one of the letters sitting in the corner of his room had to have the date she was planning on coming home. Tenzin had just woken up for his morning meditation. He realized he was up about an hour early and decided that he would go and check the letters since he had extra time. He stood, rubbing his eyes groggily before dragging himself over to the far corner of his bedroom. There were almost twenty letters piled up so he decided to start at the bottom of the pile. It didn't take long to find the letter he was looking for, as he only scanned them for a possible date. He read the letter to himself.

_Tenzin, Second Week of Spring_

_I know you are probably not going to read this letter, as you have not replied to my many before this. However, if you happen to cross it, I would like to tell you that things are going great. I have learned so much from my mother, and have had so much fun. I miss you a lot. It gets really boring when I'm not practicing my bending. We are leaving in two weeks to go to the Eastern Earth Temple. There, I will stay for one month to learn metal bending, and I will then return to Republic City. _

_Your Best Friend,_

_Lin_

Tenzin gripped the letter in his hand. This letter had arrived two weeks ago, which meant she would be back in one month. Feeling satisfied that he now knew the arrival date of his best friend, he hurried and got dressed so that he could eat something before meditation. His mother prepared him a fruit pie with some tea, and he hungrily scarfed it down. Tenzin thanked his mother and kissed her on the cheek before hurrying to the temple to meditate with his father. He sat down next to Aang and crossed his legs. His hand were placed palm upwards on his knees, and he closed his eyes. He remained like this for almost three hours, before his father declared meditation over. Tenzin then walked with Aang to the sparring grounds. His father had been teaching him how to correctly spar for the past six months. He had learned that you cannot break focus no matter who is calling you, you must be fully aware of your surroundings and the person you are sparring with, and lastly, if you find you are about to seriously injure your opponent, attempt to stop your attack. Tenzin had used all of these so far. Aang found that he had taught Tenzin well, seeing as he could almost beat him if they were only using air bending. They stepped onto the field. Immediately taking defensive stances. "Hey Dad! I found out when Lin is coming home!" Tenzin shouted across the field.

"Really? When?"

"One month! I think we should plan a surprise homecoming!"

"No need air head." Tenzin froze, not believing if his ears had just heard correctly. Aang smiled widely at his son. His reaction was priceless. "Are you going to turn around or not?" Tenzin turned around, not expecting Lin to jump onto him. He wrapped his arms around her back, picking her up off the ground and twirling her around.

"Lin! You're back! I thought you weren't getting back for a month." They were still embracing, it having been so long since they had seen each other.

"Well, my mother said I could come home early if I enrolled in the Metal Bending Academy." Lin dropped her arms as the both pulled away from the embrace. She looked at Tenzin. Something seemed different about him. He was much taller and definitely had grown out of his scrawny phase. Lin smiled as she looked Tenzin up and down. She had changed too Tenzin noticed. Her ebony hair had grown, falling in curled locks just above the small of her back. The muscular stick shape she had when she had left had become a thin, muscled, hourglass shape. Her face had lost some of its baby fat. Tenzin blushed as he noticed just how much she had changed.

**Well, that's chapter three I guess. R&R please tell me whatcha think. And to those who read my other story, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! seriously i am getting no reviews. I don't care if you have already reviewed for another chapter, keep reviewing.**

**-LINZINFOREVER**


	4. Chapter 4

**I like the responses I got to the last chapter guys. I appreciate everybody's reviews:D And, just by my opinion, I believe that Toph is still alive, because the show never declared how she died, or if it was her specifically who died, so I am going on a limb an saying, SHE DIDN'T DIE…. It makes me feel better since she is my all-time favorite character (Equal with Lin)… here is chapter 4**

**Chapter 4: Chapter 3 Part 2.**

Aang smiled as he watched the two young benders pick up right where they had left off. Katara had come outside and was now regaling with Toph about their many adventures. Aang joined his wife and former earth bending teacher, curious about the shenanigans Toph had gotten them into. "…Lin said that she had missed everyone. I think that means everyone AND Jr. over there." Toph pointed out her suspicions between her daughter and Tenzin, showing Aang and Katara that they were walking off.

"Well, we should get to the wedding planning." Aang chuckled, only to be silenced by Toph's fist coming in contact hard with his left arm.

"Hey Twinkle Toes." Toph laughed in satisfaction when Aang grunted.

"We are forty now Toph, can you please quit with the nicknames."

" 'fraid not." She walked off laughing with Katara, as the Avatar's face turned a boiling red. He watched his son walk off with Lin, both smiling and laughing. He assured himself that there would be a wedding in the future.

Meanwhile, Tenzin and Lin were headed back down to the creek. He hadn't been there since she left, and was curious to see what it looked like now. The path was covered in leaves and some bushes that Lin quickly uprooted. She had become quite the bender, Tenzin noticed. "So, show me what you learned!"

"Well, what do you wanna see?" They both laughed, as Lin stood before the creek and sunk into the earth. This terrified Tenzin who ran over to the spot where she had sunk.

"Lin?" The ground raised and she popped out smiling.

"Pretty cool huh?" She asked, smiling brightly. Her mother was one of the best earth benders of all time, and she was her prodigies after all.

"Well, we can see who learned more, my dad taught me how to spar, and I'm positive your mother taught you since it is her favorite pastime. C'mon!" Tenzin grabbed Lin by the arm. She gulped as she remembered that she vowed never to spar with Tenzin again.

"I-I don't think we should spar Tenzin." She pulled away.

"Is this about breaking my arm and leg?"

"No. I just don't want to." She would never admit that she was afraid of anything.

"Okay." Tenzin sighed. "Hey! I finally got a sky bison! Do you want to meet him?" Lin nodded as Tenzin dragged her over to the stables. "His name is Oogie. He just got big enough to fly around on." He got up behind Oogie's reigns, pulling Lin into the saddle. "Yip, yip!" Oogie took off, soaring through the air. Tenzin pulled up and down on the reigns, swerving the bison through the air. He didn't notice Lin clinging to the side of the saddle, holding on for dear life, until he turned around to ask her something. Her eyes were shut tight, she was grabbing the saddle with a vice-like grip, and her hair was blowing around. "You know, it isn't much fun if you're closing your eyes!" He shouted, laughing to himself. He let go of the reigns and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her beside him. "Here, hold this." Tenzin handed the reigns over to Lin and as she took them into her hands, Oogie swerved.

"Here! Here, here! Take them back, I don't want 'em!" She attempted to shove the reigns back at Tenzin. She now understood her mother's fear of being off the ground, as she could no longer feel the vibrations of anything. Tenzin handed them back to her, and she scowled at him.

"Pull up and to the right!" Lin did as she was told, and Oogie swerved to the right. "Good. Now release the tension." Oogie went straight. Lin blushed lightly, thankful she was with Tenzin and no one else. Little did they know, they had quite a big audience. Aang had been walking and talking with Toph and Katara when they spotted Oogie. Aang laughed.

"What is it?" Toph demanded.

"Nothing, uhm. Tenzin took Lin for a ride on his new sky bison."

"Get them down. Now." Toph growled.

"'fraid I can't do that." Aang smiled before being hit in the arm. "Toph, they're fine. I taught Tenzin to fly. Besides, he and Lin haven't seen each other in forever, he's probably showing off." Toph sighed and stormed off, defeated. "Plus, you need to get back to Police Headquarters and reclaim your job back. The city's not been doing very well lately." He teased.

"Oh, yeah. Can Lin stay here while I do that?" Aang nodded and assured Toph that Lin would be in safe hands. The ferry pulled up, and she frowned, but reluctantly boarded the small boat. He watched as she left, then turned his head back to the skies. Tenzin was bringing Oogie in, so he walked over to where they had landed.

"It must be a whole lot easier flying when you're bald." Lin pointed out. Aang chuckled, startling her as she was getting off of Oogie. "Oh, hi Aang! Tenzin is a great flyer." He nodded in agreement.

"Listen, your mother and I are going to a city ball tonight. So is your mother Lin. You are to stay here. Got that?" Lin and Tenzin nodded before walking off to find food.

"Where's Kya and Bumi?" Lin asked. She hadn't seen them at all since she had gotten here.

"There somewhere around here. Bumi's probably raiding the kitchen of all food. As for Kya, no idea." They set off to find Bumi, who as Tenzin suggested, was eating all of the food.

"Hey, save some for us!" Lin shouted upon entering the room.

"Linny! You're back." Bumi stood to hug her. He had grown remarkably taller, and had developed a lot of muscle. Lin groaned.

"Don't call me that. I am not a baby."

"Okay, well give me a hug!" He enveloped her in his arms, squeezing her until she couldn't breathe. "Wow, you have changed. You look amazing." Lin blushed, whilst Tenzin turned bright red. Was his brother really hitting on Lin? "How old are you now? 16?"

"13." Tenzin answered for her. "C'mon Lin, let's go get some food. Bumi, do you know where Kya is?"

"Went on a date with that Lee kid from her water bending class." Bumi shrugged. "She left about an hour ago." Lin looked disappointed. Kya was like her sister, and she hadn't seen her in a long time. She allowed Tenzin to drag her out of the kitchen and back outside. They lay down on the ground, staring up at the sky for hours, talking about the adventures Lin had had on her trip. Aang and Katara had left hours ago, and the sun had long since disappeared. "Something isn't right." Lin stood.

"What?" Tenzin asked, standing beside her. "Lin, what is it?" She held a hand to silence him.

"Someone is on the island." She grabbed Tenzin and pulled him behind a bush as two dark figures walked by. "I don't know them. It isn't Kya."

"Come on, let's get inside." He led her down a path that was parallel to the courtyard. The figures had disappeared as they made their way silently inside. They got Bumi who told them to stay in the living room, where they stayed for two hours.

"Your parents are back. Come on, they're at the door." Lin opened the door, letting in Aang and Katara. "Where's my mom?" Just as she asked that her mother strode through the door. "Listen, there was somebody on the island. We don't know who, but I didn't recognize their footsteps."

"It was probably the White Lotus Guards." Katara suggested. "Young kids have active imaginations. It's fine." She led all three adults into the seating room for some tea.

"So, Toph. What did the Police Headquarters say when you arrived?" Aang asked.

"Well, they sent me right to work, after firing the other guy. He wasn't as good as me I guess." She scoffed, smiling. "Apparently there have been cases of 'puppet people.' Normally I would say blood bending, but these cases were in broad daylight. Weird huh?"

"Very." Aang and Katara agreed together. "So, why don't you and Lin stay here tonight. It's already pretty late, and Tenzin and Lin are still conversing." Aang yawned while proposing his idea.

"Sure. It's been fun today, but I think I'm going to go ahead and crash." She stood and headed for the women's quarters.

* * *

It had been a restless week for Toph Bei Fong. She had dealt with over twenty "puppet people" cases in just six days. She gathered all of the witnesses, asked them questions, looked for evidence, but whoever was doing this was good. He left no evidence of anything at all. Many reported seeing Yakone, but there wasn't enough of anything to suggest him as a suspect. He had been through trials before, each time being released on lack of evidence. Toph sighed heavily as she gathered her things. It was getting late and she still had to drop Lin off before the council meeting. Lin was waiting outside the Academy when Toph arrived. "Come on. You're staying on the island with Tenzin tonight. Aang, Katara and I have a council meeting that'll last all night."

"Okay." Lin followed her mother down to the ferry, which was right next to the Academy for Toph's purpose. It was easier to access the ferry from there. The ferry dropped them off at the island where Tenzin was already waiting with Aang and Katara. The parents left with Toph, leaving Tenzin and Lin the whole island to themselves, along the White Lotus. They ran off, causing all sorts of trouble, before going back down to the creek. They stayed there, dipping their feet into the water. Tenzin jumped in, splashing water all over Lin. "Tenzin! I'm all wet!" she laughed. She remembered that she used cover him in mud, and that's exactly what she did, which only caused both of the teenagers to laugh harder. It was already dark outside and they could see the stars above the trees. Lin lay on her back, Tenzin joining right beside her. It was beautiful and the moon was full.

"You know, my father told me that when they first went to the Northern Water Tribe, Uncle Sokka met a girl named Yue. She was the daughter of Chief Arnook. She was born still, quiet. It was almost as if she were asleep. Not even the tribe's best healer could help her. Arnook prayed to Tui, the moon spirit. He set her in the Spirit Oasis and the Moon Spirit gifted her with part of its own life, turning her hair white. After Tui died in the siege, Yue sacrificed herself to become the new Moon Spirit. My father said Uncle Sokka would sometimes speak to the moon, as if he were speaking to Yue." Tenzin told the story delicately.

"That's beautiful." Lin smiled, looking up at the moon. But suddenly, she sat bolt upright. "Tenzin, be very quiet."

"Wh-"

"Shhh! Tenzin, they're back. But there's more of them. They're coming this way! Hide!" Tenzin stood, grabbing Lin by the waist and propelling them into the air. They landed on a tree and looked down upon the creek. A total of four men, dressed in all black crept by the creek. Tenzin held Lin a little tighter.

"They were here. Look at the mud." One of them said. "Boss wants us to find them, but he wants them alive. Something about the Chief and Avatar Aang." Tenzin's breathing hitched. "Search everywhere." The four men began scaling the forest for the two teenagers. They were a far enough distance away where Lin thought they couldn't hear them.

"Tenzin. What are we going to do?" She whispered.

"We need to get off this island. Fast." He thanked the Spirits that Bumi and Kya had gone into town for the night, both had dates. He heard the men venturing back to the creek.

"You checked everywhere?" The man, who Tenzin supposed led the four, asked. The three other men nodded.

"Yes sir. There was no sign of them." A smaller man answered.

"Keep lo-" Tenzin shifted his weight, which he soon realized to be a big mistake. It had rustled the tree branch, causing some limbs and leaves to fall. "They're in the tree!" Tenzin looked to Lin.

"Run!" He grabbed Lin by the hand, sending them into the air once again. The four men were water benders, he realized. They made their way onto the sparring grounds. Thinking that they had lost the men, they stopped for a breather. Tenzin turned paler when he saw the four figures emerge from the trees. "L-L-Lin." He pointed, causing Lin to turn and see them too.

"What are we going to do?" She asked, obviously just as scared as Tenzin.

"I think we have to fight them. There isn't anywhere to run. My dad wanted to make sure we couldn't get off the island, so he told the ferry not to come by, and he locked the stables." The men were getting closer.

"O-Okay." Lin took her defensive stance, as did Tenzin. They were shaking with fear. The men stopped and started laughing.

"You want to make this a struggle, fine." They all took their stances, readying themselves. Lin sent a rock disc flying at the, but they easily evaded it, sending a hundred sharp water sickles at Tenzin. He moved through them, avoiding each one. One of the men sent an arm of water at Lin, but she raised an earth square to stop it. Tenzin leapt into the air, spiraling a funnel. He blew gusts of sharp air at the men, coming so close as to cut a piece of hair off of one of them. Tenzin heard the faint sound of the ferry horn, signaling that their parents were almost home.

"Lin! They're almost home, just hold on!" The fight continued. Tenzin was avoiding the water while Lin blocked it with her walls. She summoned a mound of rocks in front of her, punching the rocks at the men. Tenzin looked to his right; the ferry had docked at the island and he saw his parents look up at the sparring field, looking worried. Something wet wrapped around his wrist, yanking him toward one of the men.

"I got him!" Tenzin continued to struggle, but to no avail. The man punched up the side of his body, causing him to lose control of his arms, and temporarily blocking his bending.

"Tenzin!" Lin ran forward, being grabbed by one of the men. She too put up quite a struggle, but the same thing happened to her. They bound the teenagers' arms and started off just as the Avatar, his wife, and Chief of Police got to the field. They had jumped into the water; Aang tried to stop them, but they were already gone.

"Where are they? I can't feel them!" Toph asked worriedly. Katara leaned into her husband for support. Her knees felt weak. "Where are they?" Toph's eyes filled with tears as she realized they were gone.

"Th-they're gone Toph. They took them." Aang replied sadly. He was going to find his son, and Lin. He helped Katara into the house, before leaving to find them with Toph. Her face was pale, her knuckles were white. She was in shock. Aang didn't bother taking the ferry; he helped Toph onto Appa, heading toward the city.

Appa landed on the ground by the ferry, allowing Aang and Toph off before Aang sent him home. "Now, what would the Avatar and the esteemed Chief of Police be doing out here so late?" Aang whirled around, eyeing a member of one of the city's worst water bending gangs, the Red Monsoons. Toph stepped forward, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pinning him on the wall

"Where are they?" She shouted in his face. He showed no sign of fear, nor an answer. "I said, where are they? You tell me, and maybe I won't throw you in prison." Toph seethed through clenched teeth.

"Where are who?" the man mocked.

"You know very well who." Aang stepped in. The man smiled up at Aang.

"No, please, inform me of who you're missing?" Aang became furious.

"You tell us now, and maybe I'll spare your life." Toph raised her metal blades, pointing them at the man's throat. He started to sweat.

"Alright, alright. Jeez. Boss had his top four men go over to Air Temple Island, they took them to something he calls 'The Cavern.' It's about seventy five miles outside of the city, up inside the mountain. He wanted them alive, so that he could do 'the honors' himself." Toph released the man, striking him four or five times in the face, knocking him out cold.

"You still got it Toph." Aang complemented before pulling out his bison whistle. Appa arrived almost instantaneously, allowing them to climb aboard.

* * *

Lin woke, arms chained to a wall. She was vaguely remembering what had happened before looking around for Tenzin. He was slumped up against the wall, arms chained, and feet. She realized hers weren't, so she put them on the ground, feeling for vibrations everywhere. She couldn't feel anything, which scared her. She kicked Tenzin and he woke with a start. It took him a minute, but he looked around taking in where he was. "Lin, are you okay? Where are we?" He tugged against the chains.

"I don't know Tenzin, I-I can't bend." She tried again, but had no success.

"It's called chi blocking. My dad said Ty Lee was able to do it by targeting pressure points on the body. He said if it ever happened, your bending comes back in about an hour."

"Okay, so we've been out for less than an hour. Hopefully closer to an hour. Do you remember what the men said, they said that 'Boss' wanted us alive. I think we're safe for now. We just need to wait until our bending comes back and then maybe we can get out of here." Lin turned to look at Tenzin. He was trying to bend as well, but his body showed him no mercy. The slight sounds of footsteps were made perceptible as they neared the barred room. They couldn't see the person, but they knew someone was there. The footsteps drew closer, but then disappeared as they passed the room. Lin looked to Tenzin, he was falling unconscious again and she felt the tingling in her fingers that let her know her ending was back. "Tenzin, my bending." He groaned as she nudged him on his side. "Tenzin."

"What?"

"Wake up. Don't go to sleep. My bending is back. I can get us out of here I think." He perked up, as Lin tried incredibly hard to bend the metal handcuffs around her wrist. "Come on metal. Bend!" The metal jerked forward, and the handcuffs fell right off. "I did it! I did it Tenzin!" She immediately went to help him, bending the handcuffs right off of him. He stood, relieved as he rubbed his sore wrists.

"You think you can bend those bars?" Tenzin wasn't sure, but he felt like if he got out of this cell, they may just have a chance of getting out of here.

"Not yet, there are six guards down the hall, coming this way. Get back down and act asleep." She could feel the men coming closer, stopping at the barred door.

"They are so young. It's a shame Boss wants to kill them." Lin gulped. "He said to get them in one hour. They're knocked out cold. No need to worry." She felt them walk away and turn the corner so she stood up again, bending a huge hole between the metal bars. She led Tenzin out, using vibrations to locate the correct path, and away from the guards.

"Alright, this way." She held Tenzin's hand. "There are four guards down this hallway, we need to turn around. Wait, there are two down that one too. We're cornered Ten." She huffed.

"Hey, the floor is made of rock right?" Tenzin got an idea.

"Yea, but I don't see how that has anything to do w-"

"Sink us!" Lin smiled, proud of her best friend's creativity. She sank them into a hole, bending it around the both of them so that they were together. She felt the men walk over the hole.

"I think it's clear." She raised them. "This way. They're behind us. Right behind us!" She started to run, dragging Tenzin behind her. They had been spotted, and she could hear the shouts from behind her. They became cornered, guards coming from all four directions. "Tenzin, I don't think we're getting out of here." She muttered.

"We have to try." He started brushing off gusts of air, hitting as many guards as he could. Lin fired off giant boulders in all directions. The guards had water pockets, and had molded them into sharp blades, shooting them straight at Lin. Two blades caught the middle of her right cheek, dragging down to her jawline. Blood was trickling down from the extremely deep gash.

"Ow!" She clutched her cheek in pain as she knelt to the ground. She could see the pool of blood below, and she felt woozy.

"Lin!" Tenzin didn't stop though; he was intent on keeping his friend safe. A boulder came flying out of nowhere and took out four guards. Another took out three of them. Tenzin's only instinct was to help Lin while whoever was firing rocks took out the guards. Lin had passed out and was lying motionless on the ground. "Lin, can you hear me? Lin. Wake up! Don't go to sleep!" He shook her furiously as tears swelled in his eyes. "Lin." He continued to plead until the shouting and fighting had stopped. He looked around. The guards were all knocked out, and two figures were walking towards him quickly. He picked Lin up, attempting to run from whoever was coming towards them.

"Tenzin! Stop!" He recognized the voice as his father's and stopped, turning and running towards his father. He set Lin on the ground, kneeling beside her as he started to weep. Tenzin had never seen her like this, so helpless and frail. He didn't know what was happening to her, if she was dying or if she was weak.

"Dad. I-." Aang contained Toph, who had felt the limp, lifeless Lin in a heap on the floor through her feet. It seemed she was inconsolable. Toph had burst into tears, which had made Aang tear up. He knelt beside Lin, touching her face and wiping away the blood. "I tried." Tenzin cried.

"I know son. You did well. Let's get her home. Your mother may be able to help." Aang scooped up the girl in his arms and set out to get to Appa. While passing different hallways, Tenzin saw multiple guards down for the count. Some were pinned to the wall by rock needles, others stuck under boulders. He saw a few guards just lying on the ground. He didn't realize that they had gotten outside until his father called for him. He was so lost in thought, so shocked, he didn't notice. "Tenzin, come on." He looked up at his father, nodding and climbing up on Appa.

"Aunt Toph, I'm so sorry. I should've tried harder." Toph shushed the boy.

"Tenzin, there was nothing else you could've done. I just thank you for getting her out of there." She let a tear slip down her cheek. Tenzin was seated beside her, cradling Lin in his arms.

"I just wish I could have gotten her out of there in better shape." He whispered. "What happened? We were knocked out, and the last thing I remember was seeing you get off the ferry." Toph realized the boy was avoiding thinking the worst by starting small talk.

"You and Lin were taken by the four top members of the Red Monsoon gang. They took you to 'The Cavern', something created by a man they call 'Boss'. The man we talked to told us that they planned on killing you, as a sign of what happens when you try to take them down. Though, I am positive whoever this 'Boss' guy is, is causing the 'puppet people.'" Tenzin looked up, seeing the bright light of the Temple in the distance before looking down on Lin. The moon was still bright and completely full. He started to pray.

"Yue, please let Lin be okay. Please." He hoped this girl his father spoke of was real, though he had no reason to doubt it because his father never joked about spirits. Tenzin realized he was still crying, and dried the tears under his eyes. Appa had landed a few minutes ago, but he had stayed on the saddle, still holding Lin as his dad went to get Katara.

"I don't understand wha-." Katara stopped midsentence as she laid eyes on Lin. "Oh my." She ran over to where she lay, blood still flowing from the open wound. "How much blood?"

"A lot." Tenzin confirmed. "Mom, will she be okay?"

"I can't find her heartbeat." She whispered quietly. "Aang! Get me the spare spirit water! Tenzin, you should leave."

"No. I'm staying." His mother gave in, nodding.

"She's lost a lot of blood. Go see where your father is with that water."

"I'm right here." Aang handed Katara the water and as she opened the bottle, she looked up to see everyone around her. Bumi and Kya had run out, trying to figure out what the confusion was. Toph was on her knees in total shock, beside Katara, and Tenzin was sitting closest to Lin, holding her hand. Katara led the water out of the bottle, placing it gently over the cuts on Lin's face. Tenzin squeezed her hand, hoping she would wake up. The wounds glowed as they closed, leaving behind two very noticeable scars.

"Mom, why isn't she waking up?" He looked at her with pleading eyes. Toph whimpered, assuming the worst.

"Aang, can you carry her inside? I'm going to speak with Toph."

"Mom, is she going to be okay?" He tried again.

"Tenzin, go with your father." She led Toph away. "Toph, are you okay." She looked to her best friend, her sister. She was trying to contain the tears that had built behind her eyes, but she was no water bender, and they spilt over her cheeks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She tried to convince Katara, but she saw straight through her. She pulled Toph into a tight embrace, also trying to hold her up. It was the first time she had ever seen Toph like this. The ferry horn made both women jump as Sokka ran onto the island. He spotted the two, before he saw Toph. "Katara! I'm here! What happened? Toph? Is everything alright?"

"I'm afraid not Sokka." Katara told him. "It's Lin." Sokka and Lin were so close that Lin had actually started calling him dad when she was younger, but soon adapted to her mother's nickname for him. Snoozles. He saw Toph's state and knew something extremely horrible happened. He didn't have time to ask any further questions before Katara pulled him to the side. "She lost so much blood Sokka." Katara was now bawling. "I tried everything, the spirit water, everything. I don't know if she'll be okay." Sokka turned and ran to Toph, hugging her tightly. He kissed the top of her head as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer as she cried. She had never cried this hard in her life.

Tenzin sat with Lin all night long, making sure he was there when she woke up. He wasn't sure if she was going to wake up, but if she did, he was going to be there. Her face looked much better. Kya and his mother had managed to wash her up a little and get her changed before setting her in the bed. She didn't move either, and Katara came and checked on her every thirty minutes. Tenzin was sitting beside the bed on a moveable mattress made of straw. He too constantly checked on Lin after refusing to sleep. He was watching her as he raised a hand to stroke the side of her face, but was taken aback when her eyes fluttered open and she gasped for air. Tenzin stood quickly before running to her side. "Lin! You're awake! You're awake. She's awake!" He ran out into the hall. "She's awake! She's awake! Mother! She's awake!" Katara sprinted out of her bedroom, followed by Aang. Toph and Sokka weren't far behind. By the time they got there, Tenzin was seated on the bed next to Lin. Katara was checking up on her, asking all sorts of questions.

"Are you okay? Does your head hurt anywhere? Your stomach? Do you need any water?"

"I think I'm okay. I'm just really tired." Lin croaked. She hadn't noticed that everyone was staring at her. Kya and Bumi were standing off to one side, Aang standing just over Katara, her mother and Sokka standing at the door, and Tenzin, sitting beside her on the bed. She smiled weakly up at everyone, before closing her eyes and allowing herself to fall into sleep again.

"Toph, she's okay." Sokka whispered in her ear. "Come on, you have been crying all night, you're going to bed." He led her down the hall.

"Alright, everybody out. Let her sleep." Katara whispered. Everyone except Tenzin exited the room. He smiled at his mother before crawling under the covers of the mattress that lay on the floor. Katara nodded, leaving the two to rest. They had been through a lot for one night.

**Okay, so while writing this, I looked up Yue. Anyone else cry after she kissed Sokka for the last time?**

**-LINZINFOREVER**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I know you guys like this story yay I am trying to update all of my other stories too, but school has been so difficult. I wake up at 5, school starts at 630, I don't get home till 2. Seriously? Could you be any more strict? Idk, but here is my next chapter for this. Review, and don't forget to review for my other stories as well. It's been a while… So this one should be longer.**

**Chapter 5: **Somewhere, Out There

There was a week left until Lin's eighteenth birthday, and Bumi and Kya were to arrive back on the island for the celebration any day now. Everyone was fussing over Lin, and she absolutely hated it. It wasn't that she didn't like attention, but when everyone practically dog-piled on top of her to find out what sort of present she wanted, she tended to get a little claustrophobic. She had gotten used to the press jumping all over her for almost a year after they found out that she had become the second youngest Metalbending officer in Republic City history, which, in fact, didn't stretch very far into the past. Everyone congratulated her for a few months, and the newspapers wrote multiple articles about the "Bei Fong Legacy" but things had died down since then. With all of this new fuss over her eighteenth birthday, she found it hard to stay on the island for long periods of time, or even at all. There was only one person who understood her need for space, and that person was Tenzin. Having known Lin since childhood, he recognized her emotions almost anywhere, especially when she was uncomfortable. And he seemed to be recognizing a lot of that emotion lately. He kept his distance, and often tried to keep everyone as far away from her as he possibly could, but someone always got through and ended up pissing her off. This had been going on for almost two weeks, and Lin was most certainly fed up and ready for it to be over with. She sat by herself near the duck pond, enjoying the few moments of silence she rarely got. She was propped up on her elbows, head tilted back, and hair blowing in the breeze. It was nice, comfortable. She felt the light and airy vibrations almost instantaneously.

"And just when I thought I could get to ten minutes." She laughed. Tenzin turned slightly red, and a guilty feeling rose in his stomach.

"Oh, sorry. Am I bothering you?" He turned to leave but Lin grabbed his ankle to stop him.

"Of course not… Well, sometimes." She laughed. Tenzin took a seat next to her, only to mimic her actions. They sat in silence for a good few minutes before he finally spoke up. "Bumi and Kya are going to be here in an hour. My mother wants us to all have dinner together. Kya's bringing Kan, and Kalla."

"Gah! Now we have to entertain Bumi. This sucks. This is just great. Happy Birthday to me! Not." Lin flopped onto her back in the thick grass. Couldn't she spend her birthday how she wanted? No. It was always the same; everyone else argued over her, and she sat there like a puppet.

"Oh come on. It won't be that bad, and besides. I'll be right there with you." Lin sighed, which only served purpose to dampen the mood. "Let's go inside, Mother told me to come and get you." She stood and followed reluctantly to the big building that was the kitchen of the island. Everyone was crowded around to help prepare a big dinner for eleven people. Yes, eleven: Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Toph, Kya, Kan, Kalla, Bumi, Tenzin, and of course, Lin. She felt like hiding away in a spare room on the island and not coming out until her birthday was over, but someone would notice she was missing, and it wouldn't go as planned. Maybe she could steal a few minutes to herself after dinner, perhaps go on a walk, or sit in a tree and read. Whatever it took to get her away from here. Katara strolled into the kitchen carrying a large bag of vegetables, and shockingly, some meat.

"Aunt Katara, why is there meat? I thought you were vegetarian." This elicited a chuckle out of the older woman.

"Well, Sokka is going to be here, and I didn't want to have to go through with hearing his rants on why we don't have meat." She lay the meat in a pot before putting it over one of the broilers. The kitchen filled with a delightful smell. Lin could feel her mouth watering.

The women sat there for a few minutes, reminiscing on when Kya and Bumi used to be troublesome, and though they still were, it had subsided only a little. Lin remarked on how she felt bad for Kan, having to deal with Kya and Kalla. Spirits only knew that Kalla turned out just like her mother. It had been almost four years since Kya had gotten married to Kan, and almost three years since Kalla was born. Kalla was beautiful, and looked just like Kya. It wasn't much of a surprise that she would soon take up Bumi's incredi-

"LINNY!" Shit. This was great. Just great. Lin felt two arms wrap her up in a tight hug as she was lifted off of her feet. Two more wrapped around her from the back. "We missed you so much!" Kya and Bumi.

"Put me down! Put me down!" Bumi dropped Lin back onto her feet, pushing her backwards a little, but still gripping her shoulders.

"My, oh my Linny, you've grown so much! How old were you when I last saw you? 17?" Bumi asked. Lin was still seventeen. Could he be this stupid?

"I was fourteen Bumi. Now please, let me go." Bumi released his grip on her shoulders before she spun around to see Kya. "Kya." She gave a stiff nod.

"Really Lin? It's been almost three years and all I get is 'Kya.'" She mimicked Lin's expression and nod, earning herself a few chuckles and a hug from Lin. "Wow, you certainly have become quite the lady since I left! You're all curvy now!" Lin groaned before hopping up onto the counter.

"So, where's Kan?" It surprised Katara than Kya hadn't come in with him. They were always so inseparable.

"Oh, he's just outside Mother. Talking to Dad, and Tenzin. Lin, would you like to meet Kalla? You weren't there when she was born." Kya took the initiative to drag Lin out of the kitchen and into the courtyard where Aang and Tenzin stood speaking with Kan, whilst Kalla climbed up Tenzin's back. "Kan!" They turned and faced Kya and Lin. "Kalla, come here. Leave Tenzin alone! No don't do that you'll r-" There was a faint sound of fabric tearing. "Rip it." Kya picked Kalla up and began scolding her. Kan immediately apologized for the small tear in Tenzin's robes. Kya turned to Lin, still holding Kalla. "Kalla, this is your Auntie Lin. Can you say hello?" Kalla nuzzled herself in her mother's hair. She shot an apologetic glance towards Lin. "I'm sorry, she seems to be shy." Lin let a sigh of relief. Maybe that meant she wouldn't have to be bothered by the little kid.

"It's alright. I'm going to see if Aunt Katara needs help with dinner. There's a lot to cook." With that, she turned and headed back towards the big yellow dining room.

* * *

Dinner came and went quickly amongst the long conversations that were being held. Lin was able to sneak by everyone and out the back door. She head straight for the cliff-side she had known so many years before. She nodded towards the Air Acolytes, who were busying themselves by feeding the bison. It was almost dark out, and if she could, she wanted to see the last of the sunset before it fell away behind the emerald sea. She took her normal sitting area on the cliff, on the edge with her feet dangling freely off the side. The waves crashed against the rocks below her, creating soothing songs that calmed her nerves. Flipping herself around, she craned her neck over the edge of the cliff to watch the waves. An idea struck her. Lin stood on her feet quickly, and took off her uniform. She let the breeze hit her skin before she realized that someone was walking towards her. It felt like Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi, and they felt close. But she didn't stick around to find out. Moving a few feet back, she started to run and leapt off of the cliff into the mirky waters below. There were shouts from behind her, no one had ever jumped off the cliff. It was too high, at almost 400 feet. Plus, there were rocks below. In that moment, she felt absolutely weightless. She still heard the shouts from behind her, and frantic screaming, and it seemed as though someone was crying. It was too late though, she peered behind her shoulders to catch a glimpse of the three looking over the edge. Katara and Toph had come to see what the problem was, Aang, Sokka and Suki followed behind them. She was still high enough to where she could see all of their faces etched with fear, worry, sorrow. The water impacted her body with a strong force; it felt like falling onto a brick wall. Why had she jumped? She couldn't think straight, everything was blurry.

* * *

On the cliff, everyone was in a panic. Except Toph. She wasn't able to move. She was just standing there, face white and eyes completely empty. Sokka and Suki were climbing down the cliff to try and find her. Katara was already down there, frantically bending the water in every direction. Tenzin was scowering the beach with Bumi. Aang was looking for her in the water. And what was Toph doing? Nothing. She was standing like a statue, barely even breathing. Could her baby really be gone? Why would she do such a thing? There had to have been something wrong. But what? She had been so happy, and nothing negative of any sort had happened in the past few weeks. Katara was first to notice Toph's state, and she quickly told Kya to take over. She reached her quickly, but she wasn't responding. She was still just standing there, unmoving. It was as if she were dead, but she wasn't. Katara could feel the slow heartbeat. She sat Toph down, but Toph's face didn't change. The only thing she could do, was promise her that they would find Lin.

**To be continued…. CLIFFHANGER! Review, or I wont update Love you!**

**-LIN IS AMAZING!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I realized that that chapter was still a little short, and btdubs, I just updated two chaps today, read chapter 5 beforehand. Now, I'm adding six. I think you're going to like this chapter. Idk. It's kind of sad…. And thanks to all of the reviews beforehand. They mean A LOT! Don't forget to review! I wuv you guys!**

**Chapter 6:**

It had been almost six whole hours of frantically searching for Lin. But nothing had come up. There was no sign of her in the water, in any of the caves, anywhere. Everyone had assumed the worst, and after three hours, everyone knew they weren't going to find her. They looked for Toph's sake. Tenzin was the only one with the slightest sliver of hope left, and he decided to stay at the shore in case he saw her, or found her. Katara was busy consoling Toph, who had yet to come out of her shocked state. Aang was with Sokka, he had been close to Lin, almost like a father. Bumi was almost as bad as Toph. He felt guilty, even though everyone knew it wasn't his fault, and told him that, he felt as though he had a responsibility, and he had failed. If they had gotten there any sooner, she may still have been there. Who even knew why she had done it in the first place? She hadn't seemed unusually depressed. She hadn't mentioned anything bad happening. Nothing. So why did she throw herself off of a cliff? Bumi had been crying for almost an hour. She had seemed so lively, so young. He felt bad for Toph. Lin was all Toph had left. Now, she was gone. He wondered where her body had gone. Was it floating around Yue Bay? Had it been carried out to sea? He chuckled slightly at the irony. An earthbender's final resting place being…_ water. _He knew he was thing negatively. But honestly, who wouldn't after seeing someone they held dear to their heart jump off a 400 foot cliff into sharp rocks and strong waves below? He felt bad for Tenzin. He could tell by the look in his eyes that he was in love with Lin. They were meant for each other. He shoved Kya's arms off from around him and stalked out the door. Tenzin had been down at the beach for almost two hours now, and probably, knowing him, had considered throwing himself off the side of the cliff. They were best friends. As close as best friends could get. Bumi stepped foot into the sand, the white light of the moon catching on Tenzin, he trudged over and sat down next to him. "How you holding up?" It was a stupid question, but in a way, one of the best ones someone could ask.

"She's not coming back, is she?" Tenzin wiped a tear from the corner of his eye before turning to face Bumi.

"I'm sorry Ten. I know how you felt about her." Tenzin blushed at his brother's statement. He thought about denying it for a minute, but his father told him to never run from feelings.

"Yeah. I loved her. Why do you think she did it?" Bumi was startled. Sure, in the past few hours he had given that particular question a lot of thought. But, he never came up with an answer worth approval. "Sure, she hated everyone fussing over her. But she wouldn't kill herself over that would she?" There was a moment of pause. "No. Lin wouldn't do that. Was it something said at dinner?" Bumi shook his head. Lin hadn't participated in many of the conversations held between the family. She seemed a little distant, like her head was buzzing as it always did. "How is Toph?"

"Hasn't said a word."

"Sokka?"

"With Dad. Won't stop crying. Kya's upset too, but trying not to cry in front of Kalla. Kan, well, he's just a little confused. And Mom? Well, just be prepared for when it finally sinks in. She's trying to be strong for Toph right now." Bumi explained everyone's situation back at the house. Tenzin shook his head and buried it in his hands.

"Dammit! Why? Why Bumi, why? This is Lin we're talking about! She doesn't do anything without reason! Whoever upset her this much," he waved his arms out towards the ocean. "I-I'll kill them myself!" Tenzin was sobbing quietly, and Bumi decided to give his little brother some more alone time. He got up and walked back to the house. Tenzin curled himself into a little ball and fell asleep.

* * *

She was still in a blurred state, but she soon pulled herself together, long enough to reach the bottom. There was a technique she wished to try, she had been wanting to for a while. She planted her feet firmly on the bottom of the sea-floor, and compacted all of the wet sand around her into rock, before raising it in a dome around her. It was a giant air bubble of rock. She sat at the hard floor, marveling in her accomplishment. She had created a way for earthbenders to breath underwater. It was magnificent. It was the perfect place to hide away from everyone. There was enough air to last her until the morning. She would sleep, have some time to herself, and in the morning, she would return. Lin curled herself into a ball and allowed herself to succumb to the sweet sleep calling her name.

It wasn't long before she woke. Something wet was dripping onto her forehead. She remembered the events that occurred beforehand, remembered how she locked herself up in this tent. The floor was wet now, slowly filling with water. "Shit. Shit. Shit." Lin took a deep breath before busting the dome. Water filled instantly, but she was prepared. She rose part of the tent and stepped on it, bent it back, and slung it forward. It catapulted her up towards the top of the water. It was still a ways out, and when she reached it, there was no land anywhere. _Dammit. Should've known water currents move the earth. _Lin decided to swim to her right, to go with the waves. That should lead her to shore. The current had picked up and it was dark outside, storm clouds filled the sky. _Crap. This will go over smoothly._

* * *

Tenzin woke the next morning, still in the sand, still no Lin. He had hoped it would all just be a nightmare, but when he walked back up to the house, Katara was still holding Toph, Aang was still consoling Sokka, Kya had given up and was bawling while Kan pulled her close to his chest. Bumi was holding Kalla, the first mature thing Tenzin had ever seen him doing. Everyone stopped and looked at him, expecting something. He couldn't take the stares, the hollow emptiness of Toph's eyes. It was all too much. He ran back down to shore and started skipping stones. It was the eighth stone that he skipped, when it came skipping right back to him. Shocked, he skipped it back, and in a matter of seconds it skipped back. _Is Lin's spirit in the water?_ He saw it then, the green and black. It was far off and just floating, but he was sure it was her. He bent himself high into the air, soaring up above the temple. He went further into the water until he approached the floating figure. Lin. He dropped himself into the water beside her. She was on her back, he called out to her, but she didn't respond. Tenzin dragged her back to shore. Huffing, he dragged her body out of the water and laid her on the sand. She wasn't breathing. Oh dear. As loud as he could, he screamed for Katara. No response. "No, come on Lin, breathe!" he pleaded. He pushed her stomach, something he had seen his mother do before. It was hopeless. He pushed down hard right above her lungs. Nothing, so he did it again. And again. And again. He heard something. It was a low growl. He pushed down again, and Lin sat up, sputtering water all over the place. She coughed a few times, each time more water came out of her mouth. Tenzin patted her back, trying to help. Once the coughing fit was finally over, Tenzin helped Lin stand up. He looked right into her eyes, searching almost. "Why? Why did you jump?" Lin looked amazed. She didn't understand what he was asking. She couldn't comprehend. He shook her violently. "Why?" He shouted in her face. She took a step back.

"I-I was sitting on the cliff, and I jumped. I was at the bottom for a few hours. I-I fell asleep." Tenzin gaped at her. What was she saying?

"Lin, I don't understand." She smiled.

"I did it Ten! I did it!" He was shocked, confused. She noticed this, and started to explain. "I created a way for earthbenders to breather underwater! I went down to the very bottom, and I made an earth dome. I pushed the pockets of air into the dome, and sealed all of the cracks! I was in a dome, underwater all night!" She pulled Tenzin into a tight embrace.

"No. W- You. We thought you were dead. Everyone's in the house. They're crying. Your mother, she hasn't said a word since yesterday. We looked for hours. How could you do that to us Lin? Sokka and Bumi were hysterical! Kya is bawling. No one's slept." Lin looked at him, and he could tell she was about to cry. He had gone too far. She was alive, he should be happy. "We thought you were dead." He whispered. He pulled her into tight embrace, it lasted for minutes. Once he released her, he gripped her by the sides of her arms. "I love you." His lips came crashing down on hers, fierce, passionate, happy. She responded eagerly by wrapping her arms around his neck. His arm settled on her waist, the other came to furiously tangle in her hair. It was all teeth, lips, and tongue. He nipped her bottom lip, eliciting an exited squeak before pulling away. Tenzin interlaced his right hand with hers and let their arms hang at their sides. "We should get you up to the house."

"Yeah." They started to walk up the cliff-side. "Tenzin?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you too." She gave his hand a tight squeeze before sliding the door to the kitchen open.

Everyone raise their heads, expecting to see Tenzin. Instead, they saw a drenched Lin, practically dragging Tenzin through the door. Katara jumped off of the couch to tend to her. "Are you okay? What happened? Do you want something to eat?" She paused, before her worried expression changed into something else, something unrecognizable. "Why did you jump ? Do you know how upset we were?" Lin held her hand up to silence Katara. Her aunt stared at her bravery dumbfounded.

"It isn't what you think. But, I'll tell you later. Where is my mother?" Katara led Lin to the couch where Toph was sitting expressionless, unmoving, shocked. "Mom? Mom, it's Lin. I'm okay. I'm here. Can you hear me?" Nothing. "Mom, answer me. It's Lin." She grabbed her mother's hand and placed it over her heart so she could feel her heartbeat. "Mom?" Toph slowly turned her head to face Lin.

"Lin?" Lin stooped down and hugged her mother, who at first stiffened, but hugged her back. It was a touching moment. Katara shed a tear or two before hugging Lin herself. When Lin released her grip on her mother, she looked her straight in the face, though it wouldn't make much difference.

"I'm okay mom." Toph smiled and hugged Lin again. "But, I do have something pretty impressive to tell you guys…. After I go see Sokka." Tenzin accompanied Lin down the narrow hall, squeezing her hand tighter every time she flinched at a loud sob coming from the end of the hallways. Tenzin made her stay out in the hall while he got his father and brought him out. Aang saw Lin and gasped, tears of joy falling freely down his cheek. He went to hug her, and she gladly accepted, but was disappointed when he pulled away so quickly.

"You have some major explaining to do. After you go see your uncle." Lin walked slowly into the room. Sokka was sitting on the edge of the bed next to Suki, who was rubbing his back as he cried. She was first to look up.

"Lin!" She jumped up and hugged her. Lin suddenly felt the guilt pile down on top of her as she went and sat next to her uncle. He looked up at her, a little scared.

"Hey Uncle Sokka." She mumbled. He was still staring at her. She supposed it was because he wasn't sure if it was really her, but when he threw his arms around her, she started to cry herself. Aang came back in with Tenzin on his heel. He looked upset to break up the moment, but very angry at the same time. Lin knew why. She walked out of the room with them and back into the living room where everyone gathered to hear her explanation. They all took a seat on the floor in a circle, and Lin sat against the wall. Her face was cast down, she was mentally preparing herself for what she was about to say. "Well, I was sitting on the cliff, thinking to myself. And I remembered something I had wanted to try since I was little."

"And that was throwing yourself off of our cliff?" Katara asked. Lin chuckled.

"No. I needed to get to the bottom of the ocean to do it, and the only way was to get a ton of momentum. So, I jumped off the cliff into the water and swam to seafloor." Everyone looked at her, a little unsure. "When I got to the bottom, I hardened the sand at the floor, and created a dome. I used small air bubbles inside of the rocks to push the water out, and it created an air dome under water, and I could move it. I created a way for earthbenders to breathe underwater!" She sounded proud of herself, and by the look her mother gave her, she seemed pretty proud too. Katara shook her head, while Bumi cheered for her. The others were still a little touchy to the situation she guessed. Tenzin had a wide grin on his face. "I'm really sorry I scared you." She finally mumbled. No one said a word for a few minutes.

"Well, we were stupid enough to think you'd kill yourself by jumping off a cliff!" Everyone laughed at Bumi's remark.

**Well... that would be chapter 6:) Thanks for reading, don't forget to review. Tomorrow I will be updating We Got Bored. Don't forget to review!**

**-LINZINFOREVER**


	7. Chapter 7

**Agh, It's been a while. Whheeerrrrreeee toooo go with this? Hmmm. I have no Idea, but let's see what my fingers say. KK heeeerrreeee Weeeee GOOOOOoooooo. Hahaha echo effect;)**

**Chapter 7: **Well, We've Been Friends For a While Now

Lin had passed her birthday a couple of months ago, the horrible birthday she had had. However, it was, in fact, the best birthday she had ever had. Ever since Tenzin had kissed her, she hadn't been able to sleep, often staying up late at night, wondering what it meant for them. She never had the courage to ask him though.

On this particular morning, though she was still scared, she decided she was going to ask him, to see what it meant. She pulled her tired body out of bed and walked over to her wardrobe. Lin began to rummage through the clothes she had in there, unable to find anything that would make her look good enough for Tenzin, if he even still liked her like that. They had spent the past few months awkwardly avoiding each other, afraid of one another's opinion. But today, she was going to make sure that nothing was keeping her from her best friend, especially herself. She found a pair of black, tight trousers and a white camisole to go under her metal bending uniform.

In the past few months, she had been recruited by the police force, and had been climbing at an incredible rate. She was just under Police Captain, soon to take over that position from a man named Jing. She hated him. He was an arrogant brute who had no respect for women or the higher authority. He treated her mother like dirt, as well as her and every other female officer in the headquarters. Some days, Lin just desired to shove his head so far up his a…

_Knock Knock_

The knocking on the doors had brought Lin out of her train of thought, and she looked down at herself. Half dressed, in pants and her breast bindings. She tapped the floor with her foot. The floor was wood, inside of her new apartment, so she had no idea who was outside of her door. She could risk it, and it would be her team of officers, or it could possibly just be Kya or Katara. Her own mother refused to step into the apartment until she had replaced the wooden floor with stone tiles, which was something else she was riled up about. Deciding that she had stood to long, and left her guest waiting, she sauntered over to the door and pried it open ever so slightly. "Hello?"

"Lin?"

"Tenzin? Hold on." She closed the door and undid the latch before opening it up. His jaw dropped at the sight of her without a shirt on, and he immediately turned around, attempting to give her some privacy.

"Uh, Lin. I think you forgot your shirt." He mumbled. She smirked at his awkwardness before walking in front of him and placing her hands on her hips.

"What, got a problem Baldy? I have on my bindings. It's like seeing me in one of Aunt Ty Lee's outfits. No big deal. SO, you got a problem?"

"Uh, no. I mean yes, but no, you… uh… look great without a shirt on…. But uh, I uh-"

"Relax. I have a question for you though." His eyes were clenched shut, but he managed to nod his head. Lin stood on the tips of her toes to bring her level, or at least a little closer, to his face. Making sure his eyes were still shut, she wrapped her arm around his neck and placed her lips on his. His eyes fluttered open for a second then closed as his arm wrapped around her waist to draw her closer. She pulled away and stepped back. "Well, I don't think I got an answer yet."

"Yes."

"What?" Lin asked, confused.

"Yes, we're going out." Tenzin smiled.

* * *

The next few months were intense, as Lin was promoted to Police Captain and had to obtain many more hours of work. Tenzin brought her lunch in the afternoons and would sit and eat with her until the hour was over. Even after, though, he would stay until she had some big problem she had to take care of. And then he would go with her and help, but since he had council meetings, he would sometimes have t leave early.

Whenever they were alone together, they would talk about nonsense and laugh and spar, and kiss. Mostly kissing. But they were always careful to never get caught by their parents, or Bumi, or Kya. They had been staying for months now, ever since Lin's birthday. Bumi didn't have another call to the United Forces for another year, and Kya and Kalla didn't want to go home since Kan was busy on whale hunting trips with the men of the tribe. But all was to be spoiled for the two lovers at some point.

Tenzin had his hand behind her head, woven through her ebony locks, and his other behind her waist. Her hands were gripping his robes tightly as their lips moved in sync. Kya had walked by the room quietly, stopping and backing up when she saw the two. She ran to get Katara and Top, along with Aang, Bumi, Sokka, and Suki. They were all preparing dinner for the night. They always did this, always prepared diner one night a week. Kya sprinted into the kitchen, whisper-shouting at all of them. "Guys! Lin and Tenzin are making out on Tenzin's bed!" Katara dropped her utensils for the sea prunes and started to sprint off to stop the two, but was pulled back by Toph.

"Sh. See how far it gets, and then if they are going to you know… do it, we bust them, publicly embarrassing the two, and then ground them!" Toph smiled. Katara smirked at her best friends deviousness. "So, Kya, did Lin had her feet on the floor?"

"No, she was sitting sideways in Tenzin's lap with her feet on the bed."

"Good, so she probably didn't know you were there. We can sneak up now." The family slowly set off through the halls of sliding doors, silent as cricket mice. "Bumi, don't you say a word. Got it?"

"Yeah." He whispered back. They came across the room where the sliding rice-paper door had been left cracked open just enough to see in. Sure enough, Lin was sitting sideways in Tenzin's lap with her legs on the bed, and they were kissing.

"Tenzin, I like where we are right now." Lin said.

"So do I. But, in the future, I just want you to know, that I want kids."

"I know, but I don't know if I am going to want kids. I mean granted, I'm on the tea, so we can do anything, but I don't kno-"

"Lin, I'm not going to push you into anything you don't want. You know that." Tenzin whispered.

"I know, that's not what I'm afraid of." The kissing resumed. "Our parents catching us, is what I'm afraid of."

"I think you're a little too late for that Pebble." Toph shouted, sliding the door completely open. Lin and Tenzin went bright red as they flew apart from each other. Everyone in the hallway burst out into laughter at the couple. "So, how long?"

Lin was first to speak up. "Since my birthday.." Gasps were audible at their ability to hide the secret from the family.

"Impressive. Oh, and when we get back to my house, you and me are gonna have a long talk. On the tea. Come on Katara. Dinner isn't going to finish itself." With that, the cackling was led down the hall, leaving Lin and Tenzin awkwardly standing with red faces.

"Did that really just happen?"

"Yeah."

"Well, damn."

**TADAAAA **

**Okay guys, review for me. Tell me what you thought, what could have been improved. Your reviews improve MY writing. So make ,my day and type in that box riiggghhhttt below the screen. Or if you have a phone, hit the REVIEW button. Come on. Come on. Yah knowz yahs want tah. **

**-LINZINFOREVER**


	8. Chapter 8

**OMG GUYS! I FEEL SOOOO BAD FOR MAKING YOU GUYS WAIT SO LONG! My wifi got messed up, so I haven't been able to update at ALL! Or read anything, so I figured I would catch up and then write some more and then update. *puts on shield of armor* okay, now you guys can talk. I know, I know. Hey! OW that hurt! Omg, I'm weird. Alrighty, all our feels are out, and this begins the next chapter. **

**Chapter 8: **A Tough Timing

Almost a year had gone by since Lin and Tenzin's parents had found out about the secret relationship they had been hiding. Toph had taken Lin home right after dinner. Lin had been expecting a lecture from her mother, but Toph simply patted her on the back, muttered her congratulations, and gone to bed. It was simple, her life; if only it were that way for Tenzin.

After his family had found out about Lin and him, Bumi's nonstop teasing lasted days on end. Whenever Lin would come over, he would blow out a few of the candles and smirk evilly before leaving the room. Tenzin simply groaned in embarrassment. Aang had been proud of his son, acclaiming that "He had caught himself a Bei Fong!"

Toph had slapped him for that one. Katara, always the worry-wart, insisted that Aang have another "talk" with the youthful airbender. When Aang refused, she did it herself. Her nonstop asking about whether or not they had been "safe"( even though they hadn't had a reason to "be safe")was endless and became rather annoying.

Nevertheless, the young couple spent every moment they could with each other. Lin would often leave work to go and have dinner with Tenzin and his parents, and Toph usually joined them, and at some point between the rapid discussion between the older adults, the two would sneak off. They were usually caught by unsuspecting Air Acolytes in a secluded area and were lectured for their "irresponsibility" later the next evening. This became a reoccurring schedule.

Bumi and Kya had gone off months before, Bumi to the Fire Nation and Kya with her husband and daughter back to the South Pole, but were noted to be arriving at any day for the End of The War Anniversary Aang had instilled as a tradition almost twenty eight years ago. On the day that Kya had arrived, everything was frantic and acolytes were bustling about preparing for the parade and festivities to be held in the city. The council was meeting to discuss the security for the carnival and the Chief of Police, Toph, was still working on unknown cases of Puppet People. After the incident with Lin, the culprit of the Puppet People had stopped. That was almost ten years ago to the date, but a few weeks prior, the criminal resurfaced and even more cases began to arise.

Many claimed it to be blood bending, others said he was a spirit that gained control of one's body, and some said whoever it was possessed evil magic. Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka knew exactly what it was. It was blood bending. Katara had been the first to come to this realization after studying one of the unluckier victims in the morgue. There was bruising upon the man's entire chest, and his muscles were strained and bones had been twisted, some even broken. His heart had been too weak to handle the pressure of the bending, and he died two weeks after being admitted into the hospital.

Since the new uprisings of the long forgotten cases, the council had been seriously considering cancelling the centenary for fear of yet another untimely death. Toph, however, had insisted otherwise and claimed that her police force shouldn't be toyed with and could handle anything thrown at them. Lin, Police Captain, had agreed with her mother, but for some reason felt a strange danger to the situation. Something called out to her, telling her to say away, to protect those she loved. But she quickly dismissed it and stood at her mother's side during the jubilee.

"Okay, ten officers need to cover the fairgrounds where the rides will be, and forty need to see over the perimeter. Team Three, Team Five, Team Seven, and Team Ten I want you doing that. Assign posts. Officer Haan, I want your team scattered around the city in case something happens. You call me if something does and I'll get backup." Toph directed from her post at the front of the group of Metalbending officers.

"Yes Ma'am!" He saluted, as did the others. She dismissed them with a wave of her hand before turing to her right to face Lin.

"You're with me today kiddo." Lin smiled and nudged her mother with her elbow. They began to walk down the wide stairs of the Council building and into the crowds of people. Toph, eager to strike up a conversation with her now nineteen year old daughter began to speak. "So, how are things with Junior? You guys seem pretty cozy." Lin looked down at the ground, a movement her mother heard, and noticed. "He's not pressuring you is he? Cause I'll shove hid head so far up his ass-,"

"That you'd think it were a hat, yes Mother, I know. I've heard it all before. And before you start, no he is not pressuring me. It's just… it's… Mom, who was my dad?" Lin asked, huffing out the last words in defeat. Toph seemed quite taken aback by the question.

"I've told you, it's not something you need to know."

"Yes it is! He's my _father! _I have a right to know!" She shouted. Her face was red and her fists were clenched. Toph dropped her head and tried to hold back the tears that began stinging her eyes.

"When I was twenty, I met a man named Ren. He was a nice guy, a great earthbender, well not compared to me, but compared to most others, he would have been considered great. I grew fond of him quickly. He was loud and proud, and very sarcastic. He could make me laugh, really laugh. We dated for almost a year before we were married, and soon enough, I was pregnant with you. A month before you were born, I came home and he wasn't there. I called Katara over, and she found a note on the bed. It said something about financial stability and being back soon, that he loved me and couldn't wait to meet you, but he never did come home." A tear hit the floor. "And it was hard to never know what happened to him."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What would you think if I told you a month before you were born your father up and split town? You would think it was your fault! You would wonder why he didn't want you. I know I often sit up at night thinking about that, why would I want that for you?" Toph whispered. She dried her eyes before lifting her head up. "Enough about this though, we must get to work. And if you ever tell anyone I shed a tear, I'll kick your butt." Lin chuckled nervously before taking her mother's arm and leading her through the crowds. It was awkward after their conversation, but neither Toph nor Lin paid too much attention to that for they were too busy patrolling.

"Okay, nothing out of the ordinary. Dismissed." Toph noted. "Lin, anything?"

"A man claimed to have been lifted off his feet and suspended in mid-air almost ten minutes ago on the opposite side of town." She didn't bother handing her mother the notes.

"Get me ten officers, call Twinkles. You're in charge for now, Lin. Until I get back, I want the rest of you working and patrolling." Toph walked off with the other metalbenders and over to an airship. She gave Lin a thumbs up before hopping on. Lin, though she knew her mother couldn't see it, waved to her.

"You having a good time?" A pair of hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. Someone's chin nuzzled into her hair and came to rest on her shoulder. She smiled and snuggled into them.

"Yes, yes I am. And are you having a good time?" Tenzin smiled and nodded his head. "That's good to hear. Now you should let go of me before one of the officers tells my mother I was cuddling on the job. She'll fire me y'know." He gave her one final squeeze and released her so that she could look at him. "You are welcome to help." She offered.

"What can I do Capp'n?" Tenzin stood taller than before as he saluted her. Lin gave an uncharacteristic giggle.

"Ad ease, Ten. You can help me patrol if you'd like." She motioned for him to follow while she checked up on stations with officers in them. They all gave her the all clear. "Has Avatar Aang been notified to meet the Chief?" One of the officers stepped forward.

"He left fifteen minutes ago ma'am. We received radio broadcast that Yakone was at the crime scene. Witnesses say they saw him bloodbending the victim. He fled before Chief Bei Fong could get there, but she is planning on taking him in later." Lin nodded and the officer stood down.

* * *

"Okay, thank you. That is all we need for now." As Toph moved from witness to witness, she became more confident with her decision to arrest Yakone. Many of the witnesses claimed to have seen him bloodbend, and it excited her to see that he had finally faltered and could be taken down. She had her back turned and felt some unfamiliar footsteps behind her. Before she had time to even react, a slip of paper was deposited in her hand, and the vibrations had disappeared. She handed the slip to one of the officers who read it aloud for all of the officers to hear.

"Yakone's hideout is in the abandoned Cheng's House of Rice restaurant." He paused. "That is all it says." Toph mentally grumbled to herself and rallied up the officers.

"To the restaurant, I guess." They filed and boarded the air ship once more.

* * *

Shouts were heard from a corner of the festival. Lin had told her officers to stand down, as she was sure it was probably just a fight. However, as she edged closer to the crowd, she realized that it wasn't just a fight. Not at all. She shoved her way through the crowd and knelt down next to the body of a man. He had been stabbed and was lying face up, that was obvious, but the writing in blood on the ground was what had confused her. In bloody letters it read: _He won't be the last. _Lin carefully leaned over to get a look at him, gasping for air at who she saw. "Uncle The Duke." She stood and backed away from the body. "Katara!" She screamed, her hands shaking "Aunt Katara! Tenzin! Bumi! Somebody!" The other officers were busy backing up the crowd of people. Lin knelt down again and took the knife out. She began to apply pressure. He groaned a little when she did, but it would stop the blood flow. "Hey Uncle The Duke. It's Lin. I know you were supposed to come for the speeches, and to have all of the war heroes up on stage in front of everyone for a reunion." She started. If she could keep his attention, keep his brain from shutting down, maybe there would be a chance he could survive. "Can you tell me what you were going to say?" He took a deep, staggered breath. "Come on Uncle. Don't you give up just yet. Katara is on her way. You're going to be just fine." The Duke groaned again as she pressed harder. "Keep your eyes on me you hear?" He slowly nodded, and she could feel him slipping away, slowly. "Aunt Katara!" She screamed again. Someone came pushing their way through the crowd and was immediately let through. "Aunt Katara!"

"I'm here Lin! What is it?" Katara knelt down next to The Duke. "Oh Spirits, The Duke! W-What happened?" She asked as she began to bend her water out of the seal-skin. The Duke smiled up at her. "Lin, talk to him." She began to work the water over his wounds and as it glowed a bright blue, the stab closed together. "Okay, all done. The Duke, you should be fine. Do you hurt?" He shook his head.

"Hey Uncle." Lin smiled.

"Hey Lin. How's your mother? It's been what? Eight years?" It had been a long time since The Duke had been around. Growing up, all of the kids had come to know the Freedom Fighters as aunt and uncles, even after Smellerbee married Longshot. They had attended every reunion up until eight years ago when Smellerbee had her third child. The married couple had to stay home and raise the kids, and The Duke and Pipsqueak didn't go anywhere without them. So, all of the Freedom Fighters had been absent for several years. They still had kept in touch, The Duke being great friends with Toph, it was required. "Wow, look at you. You're all grown up." He lightly punched her in the arm. She returned the gesture. Katara helped him off of the ground and into a chair so that he could rest without causing a disturbance.

Once all was situated, Lin pulled Katara aside and pointed to the blood puddle on the ground. Katara read the words before telling her to go get her mother. "Okay, I'll be back soon." Lin addressed the officers. "Stay at your posts and keep an eye out. We need officers around all of the war heroes."

**That's all or today ya'll. LERVE YER! **

**-LINZINFOREVER**


	9. Chapter 9

**Whoops, long time no update for this story**** Its okay though! BECAUSE IM UPDATING NOW! MWAHAHA. Damn, I'm too hyper.**

**Chapter 9: **In the Distance

Yakone had been successfully arrested by Toph and her Metalbenders. The trial was to take place the following day, and the Police Headquarters was an absolute disaster. All of the officers were trying to get the evidence ready and get witness statements from the dozens of witnesses waiting outside. Yakone had committed terrible crimes, and the victims were either dead, or still in critical condition.

Toph, being the Police Chief, had ordered for Lin, a few officers, and herself to attend the trial. It was for safety reasons, and she really wanted to see Yakone locked behind bars. However, if what was being said about the bloodbending was true, there would be no way to keep him behind bars. He could easily bloodbend his way out, or kill the guards and prisoners. This reoccurring thought frightened the Chief and she often found herself trying to shake it out of her head. It wasn't easy though, and as the minutes turned to hours, she found herself dwelling on the matter even more.

Toph had dark bags under her eyes, and her hair was matted from nights without sleep. Lin, taking notice of this, urged her mother to take a nap, or to go home and get some rest. It was useless, but eventually, Lin found her mother passed out in her office. She quietly covered her with a jacket and shut the door.

"Okay, everyone! Listen up!" The officers all stopped bustling about to focus their attention on Lin. "Team Eight, I want you to get the witness statements, now. We need those more than almost anything. Team Seven, is there anyone patrolling the city?"

"No ma'am." One of the officers answered.

"Then, I want your team to start patrolling. Team Three, organize the evidence according to dates, and Team Five, you transport the evidence to the lockers. Team Two and Four, you are going to file the witness statements and arrange them alphabetically. Six and Nine, you are on paperwork."

"What about us Captain?" It was her own team, Team One.

"We have an assignment. No one is to enter the Chief's office for anything, unless the building is burning down, or we have lost an officer. Understood?" There was a series of yes's and understood's from all directions as Lin moved her team into the air ship. "We are raiding the Agni Kai Triad's hideout today. There are rumors that they have been planning something big, like an assassination. We are to get in and get out, arrest as many of them as you can."

"Yes ma'am." As Lin and her men put on their necessities for fighting, she discussed the matters with them. She explained the tips she had gotten, and the leads. The pilot of the ship announced that they were over the hideout, and the officers slid down from the cables. Lin was first to reach the ground, and she stood and waited at the entrance for her officers. As Captain, she was to lead the way into the hideout, so she counted the heads and quietly motioned for them to follow.

There weren't any vibrations anywhere, which made Lin very skeptical. As they checked the empty building for any signs of life, Lin stopped. "There isn't anything here." Double checking, she slammed her foot down and felt for the vibrations. "Nothing." She huffed in frustration and ventured further into the building. She rounded a corner after telling her men to halt. Lin stepped forward, but something had changed. When she looked down at her feet, she noticed the floor was wooden. Hurriedly, she jumped back and readied herself. "It's an ambush! Get ready!" Fire came spiraling out from the small wooden hallway.

It was hard to dodge the first few flames that licked their way through the officers, but she managed to do so without an officer getting injured. Men came pouring the various tunnels; they had been coated in wood so that it was impossible to feel. Lin shot her cables out and caught two of them before yanking them back. She blocked the fire and water with earth walls, and ran forward. She raised more walls to block of the entries, which stopped the flow of men from many points. Her metal cables, she split at the ends into three sections. It was easier to coil around more resisters that way. When some of the men approached closer, Lin was forced to fight in hand to hand combat, punching and kicking until the gangsters were knocked out. All of the triad's men were on the floor within seconds, and it didn't tak long to throw them into the back of the police truck.

Lin was watching them load the truck when an officer approached with a letter. "Great she mumbled to herself. As she unfolded the letter, her eyes widened, and she put one of the officers in charge before swinging away on her cables.

She reached the Headquarters in mere minutes, and sped into Toph's officer. "I'm here." She breathed heavily.

"Yakone's trial has been moved up, it's in an hour. I need you to watch over the station." Lin sighed, she too had wanted to see the man who caused the scars upon her face get thrown into prison. However, her duties to the station we far more important. Toph thanked her quietly before heading to the Council building.

* * *

Lin watched as her officers returned with the Agni Kai culprits. They were thrown into the cells in the basement to be dealt with later. She closed her own office door and sat in her chair so she could get some much needed rest. Her head fell back against the soft chair back, and she closed her eyes. Lin was almost asleep when the loud knocking came from her door. "What?" She all but shouted.

"The trial is over. Something went terribly wrong! It's the Chief!" Lin practically jumped to her feet and out into the work room. "She's over at Air Temple Island with Master Katara."

Not willing to hear another word, Lin sprang through an open window and swung herself to the boat docks. When she boarded the boat, she couldn't help but think the worst. She should have gone with her mom, she could have prevented whatever had happened.

The boat, about fifteen feet away from shore slowed, and Lin used her cables to slingshot herself to the island. It didn't take long for her to make her way to the infirmary, to where her mother was. Katara was sitting by the bed when she entered the room.

Her first sight was Toph. Motionless and pale on the bed. Her face was peaceful, Lin had to check for her struggling heartbeat to make sure she wasn't dead. "Mom!" She rushed to Toph's side. "Wh-what happened?"

"Yakone. He bloodbent everyone there. Everyone else woke up except for Toph." Katara sobbed. "He used a powerful grip on her, it broke one of her arms, and fractured her ankle." Lin couldn't suppress the tears any longer, and allowed them to pour from her eyes.

"She'll be okay, right?" Her eyes were pleading with Katara, the waterbender knew that. Toph was Lin's only parent, her only role model.

"I hope so." Katara bent more water from the bowl and applied it to Toph's arm. Underneath the edges of the bandages, Lin could see the purple bruises that ran from her neck. Katara noticed her prodding eyes. "Her entire body was bruised, I covered it so it wouldn't seem so bad. The bruises will heal, but I'm worried about her heart. The bending did a lot of damage, but I was able to heal most of it in time. It will take a few weeks until she's up on her feet again."

"Thank you, Katara." Lin was truly thankful for the family she had, even if they weren't blood related.

**Blah terrible chapter! More to come soon. Promise.**

**-LINZINFOREVER**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: When it Hits**

Never had Lin had so much to deal with in her entire life. She was more of a get-to-work-and-get-it-done type of person, but when her mother was brutally attacked, everything in her world began to change. She took on more responsibilities with every waking moment, which didn't lend her much free time either. Officers were constantly asking her for updates on Toph, some asked for raises and some promotions. Of course, she never satisfied their requests, but she did her best to make all of the metalbenders happy. That was if and when she could.

Often, during the long days that pressed her, Lin would be caught in the middle of triad wars and robberies. Sometimes, things were bigger and far worse, and very rarely, everything was still and silent. It was in those scarce milliseconds that she had to savor sleep and food. No social activities took place while her mother was on bed rest, she hadn't even had a chance to see Tenzin in almost two weeks. When she got home, usually very late, she would succumb to whatever sleeping state she could muster up. Which was never really much at all. She had dark bags under her eyes and her cheeks had begun to sink in from the malnutrition her job was providing her.

However, despite the business that stitched itself into her life, Lin managed to visit Toph morning and night. The Chief of Police had yet to try and walk, her body was much too weak and still bruised. Plus, Katara had forbade it. When she finally did get up, she swore, she was going straight back to work. Toph could easily feel her daughter's exhaustion from the moment she had stepped off the boat docks. It wasn't hard to tell that Lin was tired, as she often loomed about and dragged her feet. Sooner or later, she realized, something was going to happen, and Lin was going to be hurt.

And that was exactly what happened.

While at work, one early morning, Lin received a letter from a shop owner, claiming that there had been a robbery. Had she been her sleep-sobered self, she would have noticed the blood droplets on the corner of the paper and the lack of a signature. Instead, she gathered twenty of her finest men and directed them straight towards an ambush, and she was the huge, red target.

When she had arrived on the street where the shop was located, the roads were barren, which should have lit some sort of signal in her mind. It didn't. The emptiness of the streets and corners only made better that there were no pedestrians and innocents nearby. Lin walked right through the door of the shop, the door shutting behind her, she had signaled her officers to wait outside. Only seconds later, she was walked outside by the new leader of the Red Monsoons. With a knife at her neck.

* * *

It had only taken mere minutes for the news of the hostage situation to reach the ears of the Chief. Obviously startled and worried, Toph had disobeyed Katara's direct orders to stay in the bed, and had bent her metal uniform onto her muscular body. She denied the many shouts of protest and boarded the nearest boat to the other side of Yue Bay.

Her metal wires served as swings for her to get from one end of the city to the other, and it was the quickest and most effective way aside from an earth wave. But Toph wasn't in the mood to destroy the city at the moment, for fear had filled her entire body and mind. Lin, her only child, was the only officer being held in the situation, apparently by some sort of platinum knife. In her many years of acting Chief of Police, Toph Beifong had never encountered a situation as emotionally and physically delicate as the one presented to her. Nor had she stumbled upon a circumstance that she couldn't act so readily and fix it. This mess required tantalizing care and compromise to ensure Lin's safety. And she would ensure it, she made sure of that.

As the Chief of Police came up to the many officers that littered the street, she shrugged her way through them and to the front at the door, where Lin was commendably being held. Her fists pounded at the door without order, and her mouth spoke words without her permission. "Open up! Unless you want to live to see tomorrow, I suggest you let me in." The door creaked open slightly, and Toph was jerked from her stance into the shop. "Wha-?" She squeaked as a hand was placed over her mouth.

"Mom!" Toph used her seismic sense to scan the room, feverishly searching for Lin's heartbeat among the five that were present. She found her without much problem and struggled from the grasp that confined her.

"Lin, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now get us out of here." Lin mumbled from beside a burly man with greasy black hair and a sword at his belt. Granted, her mother couldn't see the menace, or the sword, but she could feel and hear the silent song the metal sang out to her. Her hand twitched and the edges of the steel sword curled into blunt, circular sides. It rendered the man helpless, except for his use of firebending. Something both women had expected.

"Have the Avatar restore Yakone's bending, or she dies." A gruff voice demanded from somewhere beside Toph. Since she couldn't feel his heartbeat and she didn't even know he was there, she figured he was standing on a sort of wooden surface.

"Don't do it, Ma." Lin advised.

"I can't do that." The man raised a knife to Lin's throat. "But," Toph hurriedly continued, sensing something was off. "I will cut you a deal if you let her go. The police force will stop bothering you, and no charges will be pressed." The offer was a good one, she knew that.

"Have the Avatar restore Yakone's bending."

"We don't know where Yakone is!" Toph was already losing her patience, something Lin recognized not to be a good thing.

"Well, then I'm sorry." He moved the knife away from Lin's neck and plunged it deep into her stomach.

"Ah!" She screamed in agony. Toph stepped forward, shouting different profanities at the men whilst her own tears streamed down her face. She stomped on the ground, a signal she created to send her officers. The glass window of the shop shattered, and almost two dozen men crowded the place at once. Toph didn't take any part in the fight, her men had this, she ran over to Lin and crouched by her side. "Mom," She breathed. "I'm okay. I'm fine. G-go get Katara o-or Aang o-or K-Kya." Blood began to drip from Lin's mouth and she turned to sputter up blood.

"O-Okay." She caught one of the officers running by his collar and yanked him to the floor, away from the line of fire. "Go get Avatar Aang. As fast as you can. Or Lady Katara or Lady Kya. Run, do whatever it takes."

* * *

"Avatar Aang! Avatar Aang!" Aang dropped his head down from his meditating form and sighed deeply. He hadn't been able to meditate for weeks, not to mention travel into the Spirit World. "Avatar Aang!" Aang sighed again and uncrossed his legs, turning his head to slightly glare at the person who had interrupted him. "It's Chief Beifong! She needs you desperately on First and Fifth Street."

"Why? What's happened?" He asked hurriedly after realizing that Toph was supposed to be on bed rest.

"I-It's her daughter, Captain Beifong." The man was hunched over with his hands on his knees huffing and gasping for the air that surrounded him. "Sh-she's been very badly injured and requires i-immediate healing. It's life and death sir!"

"Katara!" Aang wasted no time grabbing his glider and flying to First and Fifth Street. The scene was somewhat calmer than he had expected. Officers were standing in a circle, all gathered around two figures. Toph and Lin. There was blood all by the ground where she lay motionless. The Avatar's heart collided with his stomach. He landed swiftly by a wagon of cabbages, the powerful air causing the entire cart the tip over. He didn't pay much attention to that as he ran through the crowd of officers to Toph. "Toph! What's happened?" She didn't speak, she just shook her head, her eyes wide and her eyes down cast. Tears visibly rolled down her pale cheeks as she looked at her bloody hands. Aang, after seeing the blood, turned all of his devotion to Lin and healing her as quickly as he could. Through a trick Katara had taught him, he took water from the air and it glowed blue in his hand. He glided it over Lin's bloody uniform and watched as parts of the water glowed brighter than others. When the water stopped glowing, he pulled it away and turned to face Toph. "She needs more healing from Katara. Toph, are you alright?" He didn't get an answer, so he pulled out his bison whistle and blew on it. Almost instantaneously, Appa appeared, soaring of the crowd of metalbenders. "Officer, get Lin onto Appa, and tell him to go home." The officer directly in front of him nodded and gently scooped Lin into his arms and raced over to Appa's saddle. He tied on a small parchment of paper Aang had given him and hurriedly sent Appa on his way home.

* * *

Aang had been trying to coax something, anything, from Toph, but she wouldn't stop shaking her head and mumbling incoherent sentences. He bundled her in his arms and walked the few blocks to Sokka's house, praying to the Spirits that he would be able to help.

**Heh. Sorry for the long wait, but uhhhh. Been updating Welcome to the Family, Baby. Anywhoooo. Pleaseeee pleaseeee pleaseee review for me. **

**-LINZINFOREVER**


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